Weiner gets a “Twitter makeover”

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Weiner gets a “Twitter makeover”

By CNN Political Unit

(CNN) — Former Rep. Anthony Weiner has found his way back onto Twitter, nearly two years after accidentally posting a famous tweet that ushered his political downfall.

Weiner launched a new account, @anthonyweiner, on Monday. Sitting next to his name is the famous blue checkmark, verifying the account as official.

His inaugural tweet was simply a link to his 20-page booklet that lays out his “64 ideas to keep New York the capital of the middle class,” which he released earlier this month.

It’s one more sign that Weiner–a popular Democrat before his resignation–may make the big jump into this year’s New York City mayoral race, a decision he’s considering.

Within three hours of his first tweet, Weiner gained more than 2,000 followers. The number of people he’s following? Zero.

Weiner stepped down from office in June 2011 after he was caught sending lewd photos and messages to multiple women through social media. He first lied about the scandal, saying he was hacked, then admitted that it was him during a major press conference.

His former account, @repweiner, was only updated a couple times after the scandal. Both tweets promoted relief help for the storm-ruined Rockaways, a peninsula that partly falls in his old congressional district in Queens and Brooklyn and suffered severe damage from Superstorm Sandy.

The final tweet for that account came Monday, simply listing the name and link for his new account.

If he decides to run for mayor, he faces big competition in a crowded Democratic primary. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn–the Democratic frontrunner–holds a strong lead among her opponents, with Weiner coming in second, according to two recent polls.

Candidates have until the second week of July to file paperwork to appear on the ballot for the Democratic mayoral primary set for September 10, according to New York City Board of Elections spokeswoman Valerie Vazquez. They must submit 3,750 petition signatures from voters, as well.

CNN’s Ashley Killough and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.